National Week of Deaf People 2021
During National Week of Deaf People, we celebrate Deaf culture, Deaf history and Australia’s Deaf language, Auslan.
With approximately 3.6 million Australians living with hearing loss, there’s much to celebrate!
The National Week of Deaf People (NWDP) is a week-long national celebration of Deaf individuals and the Australian Deaf community, which includes celebrating the International Week of Deaf People (IWDP) and International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) which are initiatives of the World Federation of the Deaf (WFD). It is an opportunity for Deaf people to celebrate their communities, language, culture and history; make the public aware of their local, state and national Deaf communities; and to recognise their achievements.
According to the WFD, there are approximately 72 million deaf people worldwide. More than 80% of them live in developing countries. Collectively, they use more than 300 different sign languages.
Here in Australia, the sign language used by Deaf Australians is Auslan.
It is important to understand that Auslan is not an acronym for Australian Sign Language and it should not be written capitalised.
Today we are sharing the amzing Auslan Couch Choirs rendition of You’re the Voice. It’s incredible!